Is it fraud if I didn’t actually get any money from the victim?

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Is it fraud if I didn’t actually get any money from the victim?

Is it fraud if I didn’t actually get any money from the victim?

Yes, you can commit fraud without actually taking the victim’s money (or other valuable thing). This is because fraud includes creating a “real risk” of “economic loss”.

For example, you can defraud the government by intentionally not reporting all your taxable income, even if you get caught right away and do not actually get away with keeping money belonging to the government. By not reporting some of your taxable income, you created a real risk that the government would be deprived of its tax revenue. This is fraud.

You can also commit fraud by keeping something from its owner, or having it go to someone else (without getting it yourself). For example, if someone purchases a couch from the furniture store where you work, and you choose to have it shipped to your grandmother instead of the buyer, then you may have committed fraud, even though you did not actually get any money or valuable item from the victim yourself.

I have separate FAQ on what fraud is, and what some of the best defences to fraud are.